


He Who Watches the Snow

by haonqq



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Minor Character Death, The White March, m!watcherxeder if you squint, pale elf watcher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 17:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11787783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haonqq/pseuds/haonqq
Summary: The road to Stalwart brings back some not so happy memories. Everyone is cold.





	He Who Watches the Snow

The Watcher was always watching something. Either with careful, gentle eyes that sought the best in people, or the vacant stare that Edér had come to realize meant he was convening with the dead. But as they camped in a cave, protected from the blizzard wailing outside there was something less.. absent in that vacant stare of his. Something troubled. Was he doubting coming here, what with everyone besides himself shivering and the blizzard showing no signs of letting up? "Hey." Edér called out to him, standing and moving closer. "Does that look mean there's restless souls hiding out from the blizzard too?" 

Yinro took a few moments to retch himself from his thoughts, looking at Edér as he came over. "Sorry, I.. didn't catch that."

Edér ran a hand through his hair and sat down next to him, raising a brow, "Well given that you answered so quickly I'll take that as a no. But I do know something is eating at you." The elf rubbed his face and slumped down, sighing gently.

“Sorry I’m.. distracted.” He picked his last word carefully, much in the same manner Aloth would. He reached up instinctively to where his scarf normally sat upon his neck, now on Edér’s and swallowed, trying to play off the motion. “This kind of weather reminds me of the old days..” He looked up and out at the swirling flurries.

“Doesn’t look like Rauatai weather to me, unless I’m missing something?” Edér looked to Kana, who shook his own head. 

“Nothing like this in Rauatai. Isn’t it fascinating?” Kana spoke rather happily considering he was still shivering, but still reaching out to catch stray snowflakes that floated to where they huddled in the cave.

Yinro let out a breath as Edér looked over at him again, satisfied that he’d been correct. “I mean.. before Rauatai. I was born in The White that Wends.” Eder looked surprised at that, all the stories told had been of Rauatai.

“The White that Wends? How did you manage to get from the coldest place on Eora to the tropical beaches of Rauatai?” Edér asked, raising a brow and looking at the squirming elf. He knew pale elves typically lived in The White that Wends, but they definitely weren’t the kind to travel to warmer climates- from what he’d heard anyway.

“I was.. taken. After my mother died; my birth mother. And then my, well my other mother raised me in Rauatai.” Yinro pushed out rather quickly, not looking at the man beside him as he seemed to get even smaller.

Edér looked concerned, instinctively lifting a hand and placing it on his back in comfort. “I.. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Yinro shook his head gently. “No, it's fine. It’s not much more than you’ve told me about your own family.” He sighed and leaned against Eder, the larger man much warmer than himself. He was quiet for a few moments, voice quieter when he spoke up again, “There was a blizzard like this. It wasn’t anything new, we’d been through plenty before. We couldn’t find a cave like this, so we just settled into something like an igloo.”

“The storm stopped, and we thought we were home free. Dug ourselves out of the snow, and started back home. Mom was complaining about not having actually caught anything like we’d set out to do in the first place.” His breath caught and he tensed, covering his eyes. He could still see it. “Problem was, the snow hadn’t settled yet and levelled out.”

Eder listened quietly, concern written into the wrinkles on his face as he shifted, wrapping his arm around Yinro and holding him to his side. He was shivering, but due to his natural resistance to the cold it was like he felt the chill from the past, sitting too close to a fire to be this cold now. 

“There was a horrible noise, loud and… strange. I’d heard it before but never so.. Close. Mom looked back and we were running. It was hard, our feet sinking into the soft snow. When I looked back, I remember thinking the entire mountain was coming towards us.” His voice fell flat as he spoke, opening his eyes again and staring at the floor of the cave. “We were so close. We found a cave we could slip into but mom, she… the snow was too loose and she sank in. It was too fast…”

He rubbed his face, and Eder pretended not to notice the tears in his eyes. Yinro sighed, “I tried pulling her out. But she knew.” He reached up and touched the fabric wrapped around Eder’s neck, “She threw that on me, and pushed me back into the cave. When I looked up, she smiled at me, and then there was nothing but a wall of snow.” 

He let out a breath, “Being a lone child in The White that Wends isn’t the safest. Some slavers found me, took me to Rauatai and that’s where mother found me. I grew up there with her family, and well, my family. I spent more of my life in Rauatai than in The White.”

Eder rubbed his arm, keeping Yinro against him. “I’m… sorry. Sounds like you had it rough there for a while. I can’t imagine what that was like, especially as a kid. We’ll be sure to give it a while, after the blizzard let’s up before we finish heading to Stalwart.”

Yinro nodded gently, leaning his head against Eder’s shoudler. “I’d appreciate that. It’s safer anyway. Especially with how sick everyone is getting. Is it really that cold?” A hint of amusement slipped into his voice.

“Not everyone can be as immune to climate extremes as you. Its freezing. Before long I’m going to be as blue as you are.” Eder nudged him gently with his arm, prompting him to laugh. Eder let out a quiet breath of relief, glad to lighten the burden on his shoulders even the tiniest bit. “Now I don’t know about you, but I’m starving and cold.”

Yinro rolled his eyes, “I’ll make some hot tea, and put another spear on the fire, just for you.” He sat up and stretched, standing and gathering the supplies from his bag. “Who else wants some hot tea?” He called out to the others.

“That would be greatly appreciated.” Aloth chimed up, teeth chattering as he pulled the blanket closer around himself.

“Do you have any Rauatai blends?” Kana asked, Yinro quickly nodding and holding up a baggie with the ingredients. “Excellent! I would love a cup.”

There was a series of grunts and nods to clue Yinro in that everyone wanted something warm in their bellies. He cracked a spear over his knee into smaller pieces, dropping them onto the fire and holding out a small pail into the blizzard to catch some snow, positioning it over the fire to melt it. 

He looked over the group as he prepared the tea, making sure it got warm enough, chatting with each other and bickering or laughing and smiled softly. Yeah, things were going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't posted anything before, annnd I don't write much but I hope you like it! And please let me know if I need to add anything to tags or something///


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